Chapter 86: Combat Intuition

The next day…

In front of the academy’s library, the ten strongest students stood in a line. The morning sun made the white walls of the building glow, but the air between them carried only silence.

Professor Otto stood at the front, his hands behind his back. His sharp gaze swept across the group.

“You may climb as high as you want,” he said slowly.

“The first floor, the second… even the fifth. But don’t get greedy. Some techniques will destroy you before you can even understand them.”

His words made several students stiffen.

Dexter clicked his tongue but crossed his arms, showing he understood. Leon simply nodded coldly. Maelis had her eyes closed, like she was already planning which floor to take. Cassandra smiled faintly, calm as always.

Selene glanced at Gray in the corner of her eyes… she probably wanted to talk with him, but quickly regained her composure as this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Lyry looked a little bit… empty, like she wasn’t actually present.

The other students were also pretty calm.

And… Gray?

He already knew what kind of skill he wanted.

“You all have thirty minutes,” Otto declared.

CREEEEAK…

The heavy doors swung open, and a wave of mana pressure rolled out from within.

Rows upon rows of shelves stretched inside, books stacked so high they disappeared into the ceiling.

Above them, stairs spiraled upward to the higher floors, glowing faintly with runes.

There were five levels in total.

The first floor radiated a soft golden light, calm and warm.

The second had a heavy, sharp feeling, like knives waiting to pierce something. The third floor crackled faintly with energy, the smell of ozone drifting down.

The fourth floor was dark, shadows shifting like something alive.

And the fifth floor… its glow was faint, but so overwhelming that just looking at it made several students avert their gaze.

The group of ten stood frozen for a second, taking in the scene.

“…Go on,” Otto said, his voice echoing in the quiet hall.

One by one, the students stepped inside.

Cassandra headed towards the fourth floor, which had a creepy atmosphere… it suited her since her weapon was closely related to death.

Maelis followed soon after, climbing only to the third floor, where gravity techniques could be seen.

Leon went over to the fifth floor, where space magic was present, while Dexter remained on the first floor, looking through body strengthening and axe techniques.

Selene surprisingly went towards the second floor… where there were quite a few basic magics.

As for Lyra… she went straight to the fifth floor.

And then, there was Gray.

’…Now, where is the passive section?’ Gray smiled as he looked at the small panels, saying what section they were about.

Mana Circulation. Swordsmanship. Spearmanship. Alchemy. Footwork. Defense. Dozens of branches stretched out before him.

But Gray, someone who already had a footwork skill, a manipulation/attack skill, and a runaway skill, just missed passive skills.

As for defense, he could just run away, so it wouldn’t be really needed.

[Gray, I feel an ancient tome on the fifth floor.]

’Huh?’

Gray stopped in his tracks after hearing Jasmine’s words.

’An ancient tome? What’s that supposed to be?’

[Basically… something akin to forbidden skills. It could even be an authority, if you may, but I’m surprised… I thought those skills had completely dissipated and been taken away by the other gods.]

’Really?!’ His eyes brightened up as he directly rushed upstairs, ignoring the stares that pierced his body.

“…What a helpless brat,” Otto shook his head, letting out a sigh as he saw Gray rushing towards the last floor.

Once he reached the last floor, Gray searched for the ancient tome according to Jasmine’s instructions.

At last, his hand landed on a dusty, plain-looking book.

“…This is it?”

[…Combat Intuition.]

“That’s it? It looks like trash.” Gray stared at the dull cover.

[Yes. This is the real deal…]

Hearing Jasmine’s words, he didn’t know if she was joking or not. But knowing that she probably wouldn’t lie to him, he simply took that book downstairs and walked toward Otto.

“This is the technique I choose,” he said, handing over the book.

“Combat Intuition.. huh? A pretty simple book if you ask me,” Otto adjusted his glasses slighly, glancing at Gray.

“You do realize there were priceless techniques upstairs… spells that could tear continents apart. And you choose this?” He raised an eyebrow.

Gray also looked depressed, but thanks to his class skill [Laughing Veil], his face looked as calm as always.

“Yes.”

Otto studied him for a moment, then let out a tired sigh. He marked the book with a glowing rune and pushed it back into Gray’s hands.

“…Fine. It’s yours. Don’t regret it.”

Gray gave a faint nod, turned on his heel, and left the library before starting to head towards the training grounds.

It didn’t take him long to reach it since it was close to the library, but once he did… a group of students walked toward him, blocking his path.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the exiled bastard himself,” one of them sneered, crossing his arms.

“How the hell did you

end up in second place? That’s gotta be some mistake.”

“Yeah,” another laughed coldly, “someone like you should be crawling at the bottom, not standing above us.”

Then, one of the boys stepped forward, smirking.

“Why don’t we fix this little error? I challenge you to a duel.”

A hush fell between them, only broken by the arrogant chuckles of the group.

“You wouldn’t refuse, would you? You’re not allowed to, after all. Unless… you’re scared?”

The word duel hit Gray’s ears like music. His lips slowly curled into a devilish grin, his gaze turning sharp and cold.

“…A duel, huh?”

.

.

.

.

.

.

“…Gray, it’s been twenty minutes since you left the academy, how the hell are you already in a duel?!” Lyra’s voice carried a mix of annoyance and disbelief as she watched him calmly adjusting his gloves.

Gray only smiled, humming softly.

“I can’t refuse a challenge, obviously~”

“Agh…” Lyra groaned, rubbing her temple like she had a headache.

“Good luck then!” she waved her hand half-heartedly as Gray started walking off.

Gray waved back without looking over his shoulder.

“I don’t need luck to win,” he scoffed lightly.

[…Why don’t you learn the ancient tome?]

Gray blinked at Jasmine’s words.

“What do you mean?”

[Ancient tomes are practically inherited skills, meaning that you can learn them directly. Just infuse mana into it…]

His eyes twitched.

“…Why didn’t you fucking warn me?”

[You didn’t ask.]

A vein popped in Gray’s forehead at her words.

“Hah… whatever,” he muttered, pulling the book out of his dimensional storage.

He pressed mana into the worn pages.

[Ding!]

[The passive skill <Combat Intuition> has been learned!]

Gray waited for a few seconds… but nothing felt different.

“…It doesn’t feel like anything changed… did I get scammed?” Gray asked.

[You’ll feel its effect during battle, obviously…]

Rolling his eyes, Gray made his way to the duel arena.

There, Ethan Rover, the 11th-ranked student, a peak advanced-realm fighter, was already waiting for him.

And strangely… the stands were packed. Not just first-years, but students from other years too had come to watch.

The whole place buzzed with excitement, as if everyone expected blood to spill today.

“Who’s he fighting?”

“Ethan Rover! Ranked eleven, peak advanced realm!”

“Oh, this will be good… Gray’s finally gonna get crushed.”

Another student sneered from the side, loud enough for half the row to hear.

“That bastard got second place because of luck. No way he can win against Ethan!”

A roar erupted as Ethan strode into the arena.

His black and silver spear rested casually on his shoulder, his sharp jawline and confident smile catching more than a few admiring glances.

“Ethan!! Teach that trash a lesson!”

“Show him what real talent looks like!”

The cheering grew louder, rattling the air as Ethan lifted his spear in greeting. He bowed slightly, polite, but his smirk revealed how sure he was of the outcome.

And then, Gray walked in.

Hands in his pockets, a faint grin curling his lips, he looked like he was heading on a casual stroll rather than a duel.

His black eyes swept the crowd once, catching every hateful glance, every sneer, before landing lazily on his opponent.

“Tch, he’s not even nervous…”

“Acting cocky already? Disgusting.”

“Why’s an exile even here? Throw him out!”

Gray just waved lightly at the crowd as if mocking their hate, then flexed his wrist and adjusted his glove.

His rapier, still sheathed at his side, gleamed faintly beneath the sun.

Just then, the announcer’s voice boomed across the arena:

“First duel! Gray Vireux, second rank—versus Ethan Rover, eleventh rank!”

Instantly, cheers thundered for Ethan, drowning out even the announcer’s final words. Gray tilted his head, chuckling under his breath.

“Begin!”

Fwoop!

Ethan moved first.

His spear shot down, striking the ground before rising in a sweeping motion, his body exploding forward like a storm.

“Swift Clouds Spear Art!”

The weapon blurred, each strike flowing seamlessly into the next—one, two, three, four—fast enough that most couldn’t even track the spear’s shadow.

Gray slowly drew his rapier and then smiled.

“Alright… let’s test this new passive skill of mine…”

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